


Would You Stand Up?

by creeper_gavin



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Angst, Angst and Feels, Anxiety, Badass Jeremy, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Domestic Fluff, Established OT5, Fake AH Crew, Fluff, Guns, Heavy Angst, Injury, Insecure Jeremy, Jeremy doesn't know it exists, Jeremy-centric, Multi, No Smut, OT6 will happen, Polyamory, Protective Gents, Selfless Jeremy, Smitten Gavin, Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 12:59:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13411761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creeper_gavin/pseuds/creeper_gavin
Summary: " “I’m really sorry, Gavin…” He tells the Brit as they climb back into the van. Jeremy settles himself in the very corner, bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them tightly. Gavin looks on for a moment before sighing. He looks oddly conflicted“They’re only mad because they care.” Gavin says after a while.“I know, I know. Geoff’s renowned for looking after his crew. I know that.”“No.” Gavin tries to explain but his face screws up like he can’t figure out which words are best. Jeremy frowns a little. “They care Jeremy… a lot.” He says but it doesn’t really clear anything up. "When Jeremy joins the Fakes he has no idea just how much of a hole he'll be filling. He knows they're close but he doesn't have a clue that the renowned crew are dating. Not that Jeremy will ever get to know if he can't let his nerves stop making him screw everything up. But one selfless, dangerous, and downright death defying act and they'll be asking him to stay forever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, friends!
> 
> I couldn't figure out how to write the summary to this so that it makes sense but without giving the entire plot away? But if you've clicked than you must have understood it or at least liked the idea so that's okay!
> 
> Both chapters are fully written, I'm just not releasing them both at the same time for that element of suspense ahha.

“Jeremy!” Geoff yells over the comms. His voice is so loud that even Michael glances over as Geoff’s voice filters through Jeremy’s ear piece. His cheeks blush scarlet in embarrassment, gracing the tips of his ears with the same red hue.

“I’m sorry…” Jeremy mumbles, trying to keep his voice quiet in the hopes that no one will notice his mistake but of course they did. “It was an accident.” 

In Jeremy’s trembling hands sits a semi-automatic rifle. It’s not his usual weapon at all. Given a choice Jeremy would always pick a knife; military standard, sharpest he can get his hands on, silent killers. But today Ryan had unloaded this monstrosity into his arms two minutes before they got out the god damn van.

And now.

Now he’d shot the hostage.

On his first ever live job with the Fakes.

He shot the _fucking_ hostage.

“You’re sorry?!” Geoff practically screeches and the high pitched static squeals in Jeremy’s ear. “You’re sorry for killing the hostage? How the fuck do you accidentally kill the hostage? Get a fucking grip!”

Jeremy flinches, squeezing his eyes shut for just a moment. When he opens them again his eye line is brought directly to the pool of blood spilling from their hostage’s head. If he’d done it on purpose it would have been the perfect shot. Though if he’d done it on purpose he probably wouldn’t have even hit the guy: probably would have shot Gavin even though he was two rooms away from the main fight.

He’s already beating himself up about the situation, he doesn’t need Geoff continuously berating him in his ear to know he fucked up. He didn’t mean to do it, obviously. Why would he have fucked up a job on purpose? Although Geoff’s still screaming into his ear like it was Jeremy’s plan all along.

It had started with a shake in his knees. Jeremy didn’t need his anxiety acting up right now, he needed a clear head and he _did_ have it. Until that gun landed in his possession. It threw him off completely because he just wasn’t used to guns. Yeah, he could use them. Yeah, he had a decent aim when it came to shooting but it wasn’t what the Fakes had employed him for. They employed him for his assassin skills and they landed him with that _thing_. 

The shake in his knees started working his way up until it consumed his entire body. He couldn’t stand still, couldn’t stop twitching and that was fine he supposed. Perhaps he wouldn’t have to shoot? Maybe? Hopefully…

But then his finger twitched and suddenly it happened all too quickly. There was a bang, a scream of pain and a yell of shock from Jeremy himself.

And now Geoff is – still – yelling at him.

Gavin had come running into the room as soon as Geoff started shouting but he by-passed their leader and jogged over to Jeremy’s side. He pries the gun from his hands and empties the remaining ammo onto the floor as if to promise Jeremy he doesn’t need to fire again.

“It’s okay.” Gavin promises softly. Passing off the offending weapon to Jack who still hasn’t said a word.

“I just… I do knives… not guns… I…”  Jeremy stammers

“Everyone else okay?” He calls to the rest of the crew as if Jeremy hadn’t even spoken

There’s a collective murmur and a nod which is enough for Gavin.

“No harm done then.” He says and Jeremy just blinks at him.

“No harm done?!” Geoff cries out in anger. “He shot the hostage! What the fuck am I supposed to tell Burnie?”

“Oh, like I never fucked up when you first got me?” Gavin says quickly and that shuts Geoff up immediately. Geoff would never say he had a favourite crew member but Gavin will forever be the Golden Boy. 

“Jeremy.” Geoff says sternly but at least he’s stopped shouting. Jeremy stares down at his feet, shuffling them in the dirt. “Don’t do it again.”

He claps Jeremy hard on the back as he walks away, knocking the man forward but Gavin grabs both his shoulders to steady him, trying to make eye contact but Jeremy avoids his gaze

“Everyone back in the fucking van. We’re going home.” Geoff says, with a long waving call to his crew.

“It’s okay. Geoff’s just a grumpy old sod.” Gavin says again quietly so only Jeremy can hear with a little nod and oddly sweet smile. Jeremy closes his eyes in defeat for just a moment but they immediately flick open as Gavin presses a quick kiss to his forehead before running off to join the crew in the van. Jeremy’s face flushes again.

_What just happened?_

* * *

“Don’t fuck it up, Jeremy. Just don’t fuck it up.” Jeremy whispers to himself, taking a deep breath as quietly as he can.

He’s sat in the briefing room and it’s been two weeks since the A-Team Fakes asked for his help on a job again. He’d actually given up on the idea he’d ever be asked again since last time and he couldn’t really blame them. 

Glancing up at the room around him everyone’s listening intently to Burnie’s safety briefing. Or at least that’s what it looks like at first glance. When he looks closer he can see Geoff trying to ignore Gavin pulling faces, Michael’s dancing to some song that’s stuck in his head and Ryan and Jack are actually having some sort of silent but very heated discussion in the back corner. 

No one’s paying attention to Jeremy. Which is good. Because his chest is starting to heave with nerves and his face is going back to that bright red it was two weeks before.

_Calm down._

Inhaling again he’s not listening to a word Burnie’s saying. He thinks it’s something to do with wearing vests? But he’s not really sure. No one else is paying attention so it can’t be that important.

The briefing is over quickly but the panic starts to rise in Jeremy when Geoff asks everyone to go pick their weapons up from the armoury downstairs. He traipses out after everyone keeping his head down and his eyes on the back of Jack’s heels so he didn’t get lost. 

Ryan punches in the passcode and the crew file in. Gavin walks in second to last, grabbing one small, golden pistol from a shelf. He takes nothing else but a black jacket that everyone else seems to take too and is the first to leave the main area. Jeremy watches for a moment before remembering that Gavin is the crew’s main hacker. Rumour has it Gavin is incredible at everything he put his hands too though and Jeremy hadn’t exactly seen proof but he also hadn’t seen anything that would testify otherwise. 

Jeremy is dead last inside. He walks around the room, glancing at all the guns in the Fakes possession. He’s not touching one of those any time soon. Not until he gets his nerves under control. The grenades have been cleaned out by Michael. Ryan’s got an RPG and numerous small guns, plus a literal bucket’s worth of ammo. But Jeremy can’t find anything he wants to use. 

The others cleared out at least five minutes ago and Jeremy starts worrying that he’s holding everyone else up but he can’t leave without a weapon and for some reason the closest to a throwing knife he can find is a chunky dagger. It seems silence and surprise isn’t a thing the Fakes do. 

“Oh!” Gavin clicks his fingers as if remembering something. Jeremy jumps out of his skin. Okay, so he was wrong about surprise.

“Jesus… how long have you been there?”

Jeremy hasn’t known how to act around Gavin since the _incident_. And he doesn’t mean the part where he blew a hostage’s brains out. He’s seen the Brit at the B-Team’s offices a few times the past couple of weeks but Jeremy’s not been able to look him in the eye.

“Nah, not long.” Gavin chuckles, one hand behind his back. “Just wanted to give you a present.”

Jeremy frowns a little.

“A present?” He asks cautiously, tilting his head slightly in cute confusion. He swears he sees Gavin’s eyes light up a little more when he does.

Gavin takes his hand from behind his back, revealing a crudely wrapped gift with a sad piece of ribbon. Jeremy was about to joke about the shoddy paper work but Gavin looks so happy with himself, so delighted to give Jeremy a surprise gift that he keeps his comments to himself.

He picks open the knot, putting the ribbon into his pocket for safe keeping, and unwraps the gift. In his hand sits a small box. He slices the tape that holds the top shut with his finger nail and discovered a _lot_ of packing peanuts. Chucking several onto the floor he suddenly sees something glinting silver in the light. Plunging his hand into the box Gavin suddenly grasps his wrist, fingers curling tightly around Jeremy’s skin, stopping him from digging deeper.

Gavin’s fingers are warm and soft, not calloused like Jeremy would assume them to be. Not that Jeremy thinks about Gavin’s fingers. Not at all. Obviously. Jeremy looks up and Gavin’s eyes are fearful.

“Careful!” Gavin says quickly, “I probably should have told you that first…” He sheepishly admits.

Jeremy gives a small, nervous, chuckle and Gavin lets go of his wrist. He digs gentler this time, aware of the acute danger and beneath his fingertips he feels a solid handle. He takes hold and pulls out the sharpest, most beautiful throwing knife Jeremy has ever seen.

“Gavin…” He breathes out in awe and the Brit beams with pride.

“Do you like them? Do you?” Gavin pesters excitedly. “You said guns weren’t your thing and I don’t want a repeat of last time so I thought I could get you something you can use! Ray took our knives with him when he left, they were his after all so we couldn’t stop him but..” He trails off at the mention of Ray and as Jeremy glances up to see why he stopped he can see that flicker of sadness that the whole crew holds.

They miss Ray. And Jeremy _knows_ he’s the possible replacement. But maybe one day he can fill that hole. Whatever that hole is. It’s half the reason he’s so nervous about working with the Fakes. Ray was a renowned assassin. Handy with his knives but most prolific with a sniper gun. Jeremy would have to be as good as him to get this job… but he didn’t know if he was.

“I love them.” Jeremy presses, smiling towards Gavin. The Brit catches on and suddenly the infectious joy is back on his face as though it had never left.

“You do?”

“I do.”

Altogether there’s four knives in the box which should tide Jeremy over for the day. He grabs a weapons holster from the wall and attaches it around his waist, slipping the knives into the individual slots and tightening it around him. 

“If you like working with them, tell me and I’ll order you some more.” Gavin tells him, nodding eagerly.

“You don’t have to do that. They look expensive Gavin.”

“No it’s fine. Honestly.” He promises, “I don’t mind. 

Jeremy silently promises to keep these knives in the best condition he’s ever kept any weapon in. It’s like he’s trying to prove to Gavin he’s worthy of the gift. Though by the way he’s smiling at him Jeremy doesn’t have to prove anything. 

“You think the others are waiting for us?” Jeremy asks quietly as he starts putting packing peanuts back into the box.

“Yeah, probably.” Gavin laughs, “Let’s go." 

He takes off down the corridor and Jeremy follows suit. He grabs and puts on the black jacket that everyone else took too and leaves the present box on the kitchen counter as they run through the house. It’s surprisingly easy to be free with Gavin. They laugh loudly as they hurdle the chairs, Gavin getting caught with his long gangly legs and tipping them over. He falls flat on his face but before Jeremy can even stop to ask if he’s okay he’s already back onto his feet, laughing louder than before. 

They ignore the elevator, taking the stairs and bursting through the apartment doors into the garage together. The others have the back door of a black van open and Gavin and Jeremy bundle themselves inside. They hit the floor and Jeremy rolls right into Ryan, his head landing in the older man’s lap. He suddenly stiffens though Gavin’s still laughing loudly.

“S-Sorry…” Jeremy stutters out, looking up at Ryan from where he lays.

The man is terrifying with his expressionless mask and the red from his face paint bleeding through the edges. Ryan’s eyes are almost soulless as he stares down at Jeremy who’s trying desperately trying to get up but his hands are slipping on the wooden surface.

Ryan’s puts a hand on Jeremy’s back and pushes him up but it’s not harsh or cruel like Jeremy was expecting. His fingers linger for a moment on Jeremy’s back, soft and gentle. He composes himself slightly and Ryan does what Jeremy never would have expected. He lifts up his mask to get a proper look at Jeremy.

“Are you okay?” He asks softly, his painted lips cracking a gentle and genuine smile. Jeremy nods rapidly as he moves to sit next to the man properly.

“Y-Yeah.”

“Good.” Ryan says, still smiling. He gives Jeremy a small nod before placing his mask back down and going back to staring emotionlessly out of the window. Gavin’s giggling opposite him but Michael gives him a swift punch in the leg. 

Jeremy has absolutely no idea what the dynamics are around here. Before CockBite he never had to look after anyone but himself and Matt. They believed they were better like that, that a team would just slow them down, make it more dangerous. They’d been picked up by Burnie about a year ago and joined the B-Team of the Fakes.

More often than not they still worked alone, or just with each other. Jeremy could be a team player. Obviously, else Burnie wouldn’t have even considered him for the A-Team. Now he had to contend with five other people, their decisions, their actions, their lives. It would be permanent.

Jeremy thinks about that for the entire drive. Suddenly Geoff’s opening the back doors and telling them to all get out. He’s still in daze and hops out into the bright light. His head starts spinning again.

“You’re fine… You’re fine…” Jeremy tells himself and suddenly Geoff’s talking. He doesn’t know what the man said but everyone responds with a bored ‘yes’ and so Jeremy does too.

He pats his leg where the knives sit flush against the fabric, cocooned within the pouch. He’s never been more excited to use anything in his life

“Jeremy!” Geoff yells suddenly and he has to remind himself not to panic, that he hasn’t actually done anything yet to get into trouble. “You know what you’ve got to do.”

Jeremy nods fiercely. He will do right this time. He will not fuck up this time. He will prove to the fakes what he’s got. That he deserves a place on this team. But it’s not just that anymore. He desperately wants the men to like him, for some reason. Jeremy can’t place why.

He’s suddenly glad for the jackets the crew are wearing as he pushes the collar over his nose. The evening chill is harsh and he can see Michael and Jack are having fun pretending to be dragons. Jeremy almost doesn’t expect it of the older man at least. 

The team starts jogging and Ryan and Michael take the forefront. They’ll be the first through the door for this job. Michael will blow up the door if Jeremy isn’t mistaken and Ryan won’t be Ryan anymore. The Vagabond will come out to play for a while, his eyes hungry to kill. He always looks like he needs the fight, lives because of it. Michael on the other hand is different, he has a face full of glee. He lives off the rush of it. 

Geoff and Jack run beside Jeremy himself and Gavin takes up the behind. He won’t go in the building; the hacker doesn’t have a need to.

Michael yells something indistinguishable and suddenly there’s fire in their faces. It definitely takes the chill off a bit. He shouts again, almost a war cry of sorts and him and Ryan burst into the warehouse. Jeremy slows down to match Gavin’s pace and comes to a halt outside of the double doors. Geoff and Jack make for the stairs. They don’t even look at the ground floor where Michael is already on top of one man and The Vagabond is raining bullets mercilessly.

It’s hard to believe it’s the same man that asked if he was okay earlier that day.

Jeremy’s job this time is to keep a low profile. According to Geoff this crew had a good idea of who the Fakes were. It was the only reason they were there if he was honest. It’s a clean-up job.

The only thing this crew doesn’t know about is Jeremy so Jeremy would be a secret weapon. Salt in the wound as their enterprise was destroyed in front of them. They were dying because they knew too much. But yet, they didn’t know _everything_.

A ‘fuck you’ to the very core of this establishment. The Fakes would always win. 

Michael and Ryan would take care of the main fight but Geoff wants Jeremy to join half way through. He wants to watch the surprise in their eyes as they die.

“I got this.” Jeremy tells himself and Gavin looks up from his phone where he’s typing hurriedly.

“You got this Lil’ J.” Gavin grins. Jeremy blinks at the nickname but he doesn’t protest it. It actually fills him with some sort of warmth.

He doesn’t have long to think about it though.

“You’re up!” Geoff calls from the balcony. Jeremy reaches for his new knives. He clenches his fists around them and takes a deep breath.

 

Gavin pats his back proudly.

 

His face drops.

 

Jeremy starts running.

 

Gavin tries to grab Jeremy’s jacket in terror.

 

His fingers miss.

 

Jeremy doesn’t notice.

 

“GEOFF!” Gavin yells and Jeremy’s already gone. Disappeared into the smoke of the battle. “HE DOESN’T HAVE A SAFETY VEST ON.”

 

Everything goes into chaos from there. Not that it wasn’t chaos in the first place but at least it had been _organised_ chaos. Geoff’s eyes go wide and Gavin wants to run in there himself to get their stupid _stupid_ new crew member but Jack’s heard Gavin yell too.

He leaps off the balcony, straight into the thick of it. Michael and Ryan are still going strong, they certainly haven’t heard the commotion on the outside and it’s a blood bath inside.

Jeremy’s having fun though, actually having fun. The knives Gavin bought him are perfect. They’re lightweight, lethal and long lasting. He slices a guy’s throat with ease and watches as he chokes on his own blood. Jeremy pretends not to understand how Michael can find this so fun, how Ryan can live for a good kill but he’s no stranger to the thrill himself. Adrenaline pumps through his veins and he pauses for a moment to wipe the blood from his veins.

All of a sudden he’s down on the ground, a heavy weight over on top of him. The weight is breathing, covering his entire body with its own.

It’s Jack.

He’s pulled up to his feet as quick as he went down, being dragged through fight and all but thrown out of the warehouse doors. Jeremy is flung forward onto his front, falling at Gavin’s feet, tasting dirt.

Jack stands over him as Jeremy rolls on to his back with a groan. 

“What was that for--.” Jeremy stops dead as he realises. Jack’s black coat has been ripped open by a blade of some sort. It’s pierced the fabric completely and gradually Jeremy realises why. “Oh my god, Jack… are you hurt?” He asks, jumping up to his feet. “Did they get you? Oh my god! Gavin help!" 

But Gavin just stands there.

Jeremy doesn’t remember the last time he was this worried for someone else. Maybe Matt? But he can’t exactly pin point when. He doesn’t know what to do. Should he touch Jack? Should he take the jacket off? Why isn’t there any blood? Why doesn’t Jack look like he’s in pain?

His mind races.

Jack slowly removes the destroyed black jacket to reveal a thick black vest underneath. It’s been sliced itself, much like the coat, but it isn’t even half way deep just enough so the stuffing starts to seep out the open seam. He leans forward and pulls Jeremy’s zipper down with some force. Underneath all Jeremy’s wearing is a blue grey T-shirt. 

“Don’t you _ever_ go into a fight without a vest on again.” Jack states sternly. He folds his arms as Geoff runs onto the scene. 

“I’m sorry…” Jeremy mumbles.

“Because if Gavin hadn’t noticed your stupid ass mistake then that would have been your coat ripped open. But instead of that being my vest’s stuffing it would have been your fucking guts.” Jack continues.

“I asked if everyone had their vests on.” Geoffs sighs, but Jeremy doesn’t even remember. “And you said yes.”

“I wasn’t paying attention.” He admits sheepishly. He’s staring down at his feet now once again but this time no one’s angry. No one’s yelling at him. They honestly look upset at the situation. Probably because Jeremy ruined a job. Again.

Geoff runs a hand through his hair.

“Gavin, take him back to the car.” Geoff orders half-heartedly. “And Jeremy?”

Jeremy had started to walk away, trailing behind Gavin but he stops and looks over his shoulder.

“Pull a stunt like that again and I’ll have to send you back to B-Team for good.” He says. There’s a touch of sadness in his tone. Jeremy understands why. He put Jack in danger, he compromised a job for the second time. He’s scared the shit out of at least half the crew at this point.

“Yes, Geoff.”

Gavin’s fingers curl under the sleeve of Jeremy’s jacket and he lets himself be pulled away from the scene. He drags his feet as he walks, not wanting to look up at Gavin’s face or back in the direction he had just came from. 

“I’m really sorry, Gavin…” He tells the Brit as they climb back into the van. Jeremy settles himself in the very corner, bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them tightly. Gavin looks on for a moment before sighing. He looks oddly conflicted

“They’re only mad because they care.” Gavin says after a while.

“I know, I know… Geoff’s renowned for looking after his crew. I know that.”

“No.” Gavin tries to explain but his face screws up like he can’t figure out which words are best. Jeremy frowns a little. “They _care_ Jeremy… a lot.” He says but it doesn’t really clear anything up.

He blinks at Gavin.

“It’ll make sense at some point.. but only if you stick around long enough.” Gavin points out. “Which means stop letting your nerves make you stupid because we know how good you are Jeremy. We hand-picked you from every criminal in Los Santos.”

Jeremy’s cheeks flush at the thought that he was chosen specifically.

“You’re not just a replacement for Ray, Lil’ J. Don’t worry about being as good as him, okay? Just be you. We _like_ you.” Gavin presses carefully. Jeremy finds the piece of ribbon in his pocket. He wraps it around his fingers as the others arrive back to the van

Gavin stops speaking immediately, sitting back against the van and trying to not to make eye contact with Jeremy. Michael and Ryan are soaked in blood as they hop inside but they look happy enough, almost like they didn’t even know what had happened ten minutes earlier.

Ryan rips off his mask, wiping away with the facepaint with the back of his sleeve. It mixes with the blood that coats his clothes. He gives a wide smile towards Jeremy and Michael winks at him but Jeremy is just confused.

The idea of leaving the Fakes was crushing in itself, it had been stomping on him from the moment he shot that god damn hostage. Working for the A-Team was a privilege in itself but somehow it was more than that.

Jeremy keeps noticing Gavin stealing glances at him when he thinks no one is looking, the way that Michael keeps grinning at him like they’re the only two in on a joke. He remembers Ryan’s gentle touch, the way he helped him earlier that day.  The Fakes were something special and suddenly Jeremy didn’t want to leave. Not because of the job but because of the people. 

Geoff turns around from the front seat of the van as Jack starts the engine.

“You’ve got one more chance Jeremy, okay?” He says sternly. Jeremy nods. One more chance. That’s all he needs.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh... this took a while. Whoops.

One more chance. That’s all he’s got. It’s all he needs.

Jeremy makes a mental check list that morning. Breathing properly? Yes. Shaking? Not yet. Safety vest? Already on. Knives? Yes.

He smiles as he runs his fingers over the lilt of the knives Gavin bought him last week. They’re still as shiny as ever, almost unused but still Jeremy’s favourite possession. He picks them up from the bedside table and tosses them into a navy overnight bag.

The Fakes had asked him to stay over the night of the heist since they were supposed to have a late finish. Jeremy’s apartment isn’t very far away but Jack kept saying something about the dangers of walking around Los Santos at night. He knew that though but it didn’t exactly scare him since half the time he _was_ the danger.  Still, he didn’t want to turn down more time with the Fakes. It had only been a week and he already found himself missing them.

Gavin’s outrageously adorable smile; Michael’s infectious laugh.

Jeremy’s already smiling at the idea of seeing them again. He pinches his thigh a little.

“Snap out of it, Dooley.” He mutters. “If you fuck up you’ll never see them again so don’t let anything into your head.”

Jeremy Dooley had only ever had one relationship but he barely even counted it at this point. He’d kissed her awkwardly in the back of a cinema, lips fumbling to find hers. It was awkward and messy and when he’d actually hit base he was almost ashamed to say he hated every part about it.

They broke up two weeks later with Jeremy claiming he wasn’t ready for a relationship yet. After that he almost ignored the fact that girls were even there. They just didn’t catch his eye.  That kiss wasn’t his only one though.

Once at Matt’s birthday party in high school his friends had decided Jeremy should stop being single. They found him a girl named Emily and shoved them together in Matt’s bedroom. _She_ had the time of life it seemed. She had called him every day for the next two weeks asking if they could meet up again. 

Jeremy ignored every single call.

Then came high school prom’s after party. Jeremy didn’t even remember where it was held. Just that the kid had bought in a _lot_ of alcohol for the occasion. It wasn’t Jeremy’s first drink. But it was the first time he’d gotten drunk.

He remembers the stranger so clearly for how much he was swaying and how much he was puking the following morning.

That was the best night of his life.

Passionate kisses with purpose in a way Jeremy actually enjoyed. Looking up at their face and of course it was up, they could hardly be smaller than him. Hands tugging desperately at Jeremy’s button-down shirt. Safe and warm in their arms and listening to their heartbeat as they lay against each other on the taxi ride back to their house after the party. Smells of sheets that didn’t belong to him but were so soft he felt like he could be floating in heaven. Belt being undone, relishing in the excitement. 

Jeremy’s hands through their short locks.

Scruff of their stubble against his lips.

Henry.

But Jeremy isn’t gay. He tells himself that constantly. He was drunk and that was the only reason he enjoyed it, right? Of _course,_ he’s not gay.

That’s what he’s told himself for years now anyway and it’s worked out well for him so far. 

Only problem is the Fakes are starting to bring back those feelings. That excitement when he looks them in the eye, the tingling whenever one of them touches him gentler than he was expecting. How could he go from feeling like this about one man years ago to five of them all at once?

Jeremy pushes it to the back of his mind and finishes packing quickly. No matter what feelings once were he doesn’t have them anymore. His phone beeps.

_Gavin Free_

_20 mins till safety. – 14:55_

_Saved you a seat. – 14:56_

Jeremy smiles to himself as he zips up the duffel bag. The phone beeps again.

_It’s next to me if that wasn’t clear. – 14:58_

He taps out a reply.

_Abundantly. I’ll be there in 10._

Jeremy wonders if Gavin smiled as he much as he is when the text gets opened.   
  


* * *

 

“Lil J! Lil J! Over here!” Gavin yells excitedly as Jeremy walks into the briefing room. His cheeks flush as everyone in the room turns to look at him walking by.

“I see the nickname stuck.” Jeremy chuckles and now Gavin’s cheeks are the ones changing colour. He takes his seat, dropping the duffel bag onto the ground and retrieving his knives from it. 

“Well… you didn’t seem to mind it first the time. So, I thought that, you know. Erm…” Gavin trips over his words. Ryan, who Jeremy has never seen without his mask and make up before, turns around from his conversation with Jack. 

He’s handsome.

_Shut up Jeremy._

“When did you lose the ability to talk Gavin?” Ryan asks with a tilt of his head. There’s a tone to his voice that Jeremy can’t quite work out but it makes Gavin sit up straighter and cough.

“Never Ryan. Still got that silver tongue of mine.” He retorts, sticking it out towards the other. Ryan nods with purpose and Jeremy’s brows furrow slightly as the older man turns back around. 

“What was that about?” Jeremy asks quietly.

“Nothing, nothing.” 

Gavin falls into silence as Geoff walks into the room but there’s a hint of relief in Gavin’s eyes and Jeremy swears he can hear the Brit sigh out.

This time Jeremy makes sure he’s actually paying attention to the safety briefing. He won’t make the same mistakes as last time and he’s being extra careful not to bring forward any new ones. His mental checklist keeps getting bigger but everything is done or being taken care of. This time things have to go right.

Geoff leads them out to the weapons room after the briefing but Jeremy’s already placed his knives into their holster that’s attached to his leg. He takes one out just to prove he’s prepared and twirls it between his fingers, the light glinting against the blade every so often. 

“Never asked.” Michael says as he walks by Jeremy. “Where’d you get those?” 

“Oh, Gavin got them for me. After the first incident.” Jeremy explains with a nervous smile. Michael looks impressed and pats Gavin on the head for reasons unbeknownst to Jeremy.

Suddenly a heavy hand lands down on his shoulder and someone mutters Jeremy’s name under their breath. He looks up and Jack’s towering above him, he tilts his head questioningly.

“Just checking safety vests.” Jack says pointedly. Jeremy sinks down into his, feeling the tips of his ears going pink. He watches as Jack rounds the group, clapping each one of the men on the shoulder or the back to feel the safety vest beneath their jackets though he seems to miss Gavin on purpose. 

As they’re walking out to the van Jeremy matches his pace with Gavin’s. 

“Hey! So, why didn’t Jack check if you had a vest on?” Jeremy asks.

“Cause I don’t wear one.” Gavin replies nonchalantly. 

“Wait! What? Why?” After all the fuss that went into Jeremy’s mess up how on Earth can Gavin get away with not wearing anything on a job?

“Because I’m the hacker. Half the time I don’t even leave the van. And if I do I’m never in the room with the firefight. I’m safe without one.”

“But what if they need you?”

“I’m not an idiot. I do keep a spare in the van but Michael and Ryan generally have the fighting covered. And now you too.” Gavin smiles.

“Yeah, if I can stick around long enough.” Jeremy says nervously, fiddling with his knives nervously now. It’s a bad habit and Matt used to tell him off for it all the time.

“Trust me, you’ll be fine.” Gavin says. He reaches out and gently takes the spinning knife from Jeremy’s hand. His fingertips brush Jeremy’s palm and the hair on his arm stands on end. Does Gavin’s hand linger for longer than it should or has time just completely stopped around him? 

Geoff pulls open the van doors and the loud clanking noises snaps Jeremy out of his daze. He actually yells out loud at the shock of it. Gavin’s staring at him with concern, tugging on his hand but Jeremy’s rooted to the spot. 

“You okay there, Lil’ J?” 

“Anxiety.” Jeremy answers without hesitation. It’s not a lie because it’s often true but that particular moment didn’t feel like anxiety. Not in the way Jeremy knows it.

 Now Michael’s taking his hand and it’s the same tingling feeling. He’s pulling him into the van and sucking him into a conversation Jeremy didn’t even know he wanted to have. Ryan joins in half way through, mask now over his face and red face paint peeking around the edges. His voice is slightly muffled by the material but it’s still Ryan under there and not the Vagabond which is sort of surprising to Jeremy.

The journey passes by and as they reach the destination Jeremy breaks away from the conversation. He’s doing his mental checks again and he doesn’t even realise he’s muttering to himself till Jack turns around from the front seat to give him a reassuring nod. Ryan pats him hard on the shoulder, Michael squeezes his arm and Gavin just gives him a soft smile of confidence.

Geoff jumps out once they’ve stopped, opens up the van and as Jeremy jumps out he’s pulled to the side. Jeremy’s suddenly face to face with the leader, staring up at him in worry. Has he already done something wrong?

“Hey, don’t look so scared.” Geoff says first and Jeremy lets out a breath. “Just telling you to stay calm. You got this.”

 It’s oddly reassuring and Jeremy nods ferociously, his eyes fixed Geoff. Geoff laughs.

“Cute.” He smiles and Jeremy’s blushing again. He’s wishes he’d stop that. Geoff brushes him off with a wink and looks up, over the top of Jeremy’s head. “Okay guys. Let’s go!”

The others take off at speed. There’s thrill in their eyes and as per usual it’s Michael who looks the most excited. He can’t stop grinning and it keeps flashing in his direction. Does Jeremy look like that when he goes in for the kill? There’s not so much glee Jeremy thinks. How does he feel when he kills?

Calm. He feels a serenity sweep across him every time he sinks that knife deep into the enemy’s throat.

Jeremy for some reason wasn’t expecting the fight to start so soon. The van is only a few paces behind him. Gavin’s holed up inside, connecting all their ear pieces and giving them inside information. They’ve stopped in what looks like an abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of Los Santos. The houses around the expanse are clearly abandoned by society though there’s no telling who lies inside.

The only cover provided are a few crumbling partitions that mark off rows of the parking lot, some rusting and decrepit cars plus one very shiny and state of the art van not unlike their own. But Jeremy gets the feeling might be out of bounds.

Geoff fires first, bullets pinging off a nearby car.

“Woah! Woah!” A man yells, coming from the other side of the van. “Getting a head start are we?” He sneers. 

Michael fires his pistol but purposefully misses. The bullet flies past the man’s ear. He doesn’t even flinch.

“So we are.” He says. A toothy grin spreads across his face as he eyes up his competition. Ryan shifts his position, rolling his shoulders. He nudges Michael gently, it’s almost a missed interaction. Michael blows a short breath out of his nose and his smile grows.

“Boys!” The man yells. Six men jump from the van and Ryan nods towards Michael.

Michael sprints forward, yelling a war cry of sorts. Ryan charges behind him. Jack stays at the rear, he’s there for back up and back up only, to make sure everyone gets out alive. Geoff is already heading for the leader, beckoning him with two fingers.

Jeremy doesn’t often see the head of the Fakes get his hands dirty but there’s almost a personal vendetta in his eyes. Geoff’s seething, teeth bared and eyes wild.

“Gavin?” Jeremy says down a single line. Fingers up to his ear.

“Lil’ J.” Gavin says.

“What have we got against these guys? Just so I know…”  He asks, glancing back towards the van for just a moment. 

“They killed Ray.” Gavin answers. He sounds angry, like his fists are clenched where he sits. “So do me a favour and fuck them up." 

“I thought Ray left?” Jeremy asks but he’s already started running towards the fight, knife tucked subtly within his grasp. 

“He did. Went solo. Then this crew told Burnie they’d killed a Fake member. But we were all alive so Burnie asked for proof. Someone didn’t get the memo that Ray had left. They killed because they thought he was still one of us.” Gavin explains quickly

Jeremy stabs one man in the chest, clutching the back of his shirt and holding him up as he splutters in pain.

“For Ray.” Jeremy whispers, dropping the man on the floor and spitting. Ryan puts a bullet through his brain for good measure.

“For Ray.” Ryan says louder. Beneath the mask Jeremy meets Ryan’s gaze. They nod in understanding, Ryan pats his back. It’s a fleeting moment but Jeremy feels his stomach flutter.

“For Ray!” The rest of the crew shout at the top of their lungs. Even Gavin into their earpieces.

The bond the Fakes have is strong. Jeremy’s never seen the likes of it before, not even in a crew. The Fakes are family, that he can tell. They’re loyal and bonded and they’d kill for each other; probably die for each other too.

Jeremy would kill for them also. Would he die? He thinks so. 

He carries on the fight. He’s really sunk into it now. It doesn’t feel awkward, he doesn’t feel like he’s on the brink of panic, just normal. Geoff throws a man his way and Jeremy slits his throat without even thinking about it. He drops at his feet. 

Three out of the seven men are now dead and they’re beginning to reconvene by their van. Geoff holds up a hand to get his crew to stop for a moment; to catch their breath for the next fight. The men by the van are muttering within themselves, someone’s pointing at each of the Fakes as if counting. The gaze lingers on Jeremy for an uncomfortably long period of time and Ryan and Jack edge closer to him protectively. Jeremy’s squinting across the wasteland of a parking lot, trying to read their lips. Someone shakes their head.

“That’s not Free.” Jeremy reads off their face. He turns to Geoff. “They thought I was Gavin!” He says quickly. Everyone glances towards their own van.

That’s a mistake. 

Guns raise from the enemy’s side, they all aim towards the Fakes vehicle. One man disappears from view completely.

“Gavin. Get out of there.” Geoff says down the radio. The Fakes are pointing their own weapons towards the other crew but if they shoot Gavin’s probably as good as dead.

“What, why?” Gavin asks but they can hear shuffling from the other end.

“Get out!” Jack yells. Jeremy hasn’t taken his eyes off the other crew and when the man appears again, this time clutching a rocket launcher in his hands, he’s already taken off running.

“Jeremy!” Michael shouts, lunging forward to grab him. But he misses and stumbles onto his knees.

“Run for cover Gavin! They’re going to blow up the van. Just get OUT!” Jeremy screeches. Gavin probably doesn’t need an earpiece to hear him. There’s frantic shuffling down the mic and suddenly the back of the doors burst open. Gavin appears, clutching his laptop and phone but nothing else. The rocket launcher switches aim from the van to the Brit instead. 

Gavin’s eyes go wide and as he spots it. Rooted to the spot he doesn’t move.

“I don’t have a vest on…” Gavin whispers into his mic. The entire crew hears and Geoff lets out a squeak of terror. Jeremy’s still running. The others have started too. He’s almost reached Gavin now.

A loud bang.

Jeremy jumps in front of Gavin. 

He turns to the source of the sound.

He’s suddenly thrown backwards.

He hits his head. 

Gavin screams.

Everything goes dark for Jeremy. 

Nothing explodes. Jeremy doesn’t become a million pieces like everyone expects. He doesn’t rain down from the skies. He lies there still– with a live RPG sticking out of his chest plate armour.

Geoff’s running now. Michael is running towards the other crew. He fires blindly for a moment in pure anger before forcing himself to aim properly. He shoots down the man holding the rocket launcher, then turns his gun to the others.

It was personal before but now it hurts even more. They were drawing out the fight, toying with the other crew, having fun with their jobs. But Michael doesn’t care anymore. He wants them dead; wants the ground to run red with their blood.

“For Ray,” He spits. “And for Jeremy. You’ll _never_ get another chance to hurt the ones we love. Fuck off back to hell.” Michael says, fire raging in his soul and burning hot throughout him. He’s powering through each man, not even stopping to savour the kill. He’ll feel good when they’re all gone, when there’s no one left standing.

Geoff crashes down beside Jeremy’s body. The man breathes. He lives. For now. Gavin’s pulled down to the ground by Jack to shield him from stray bullets. He holds him tight, both of them staring at Jeremy with terror in their eyes.

“Ryan.” Geoff says. His voice cracks. “Go help Michael.” Ryan nods and bolts off in the same direction. He lets out a war cry. Michael responds with his own. “And the rest of you. Got any suggestions?”

“You need to take his vest off.”

“Gathered that thank you, Gavin.” Geoff says. His tone wobbles though and Jack pulls the Brit closer out of comfort more than protection. Geoff’s hands hover over Jeremy’s chest at a loss for how to help.

“You need a knife.” Jack says gently, nodding reassuringly towards the leader.

“Where… where do I get one of those?” Geoff panics. 

“His holster!” Gavin calls forward. “He’s got his throwing knives in his holster!”

“What?!" 

“I bought them for him…” Gavin mumbles. Jack hugs him tighter. 

Geoff just nods. He gently manoeuvres the holster enough to be able to get his hand inside. No sudden movements. Any moment that grenade could go off. There’s a red warning light going off inside Geoff’s brain. Loud and clear; but Geoff has to ignore it.

He grasps the handle of one knife tightly and removes it from the holster. As he pulls his free Jeremy begins to stir. Geoff shuffles back for a moment as Jeremy blearily comes too.

Jeremy can see outlines peering over him, silhouettes as they block out the sun . One holds a knife in his grasp so Jeremy starts to thrash. Hands grab his own, two more hold him down by the shoulders.

“Woah!” Geoff hushes as Jeremy tries to fight him, wriggling around far too much for Geoff’s comfort and the RPG wobbles in the fabric of the vest. “Same side, kid. Same side!” He drops the knife and intertwines their fingers for a moment, squeezing tight against Jeremy’s palms. 

“Geoff?” Jeremy mumbles, squinting to make out the shadowed face. 

“Yeah kid.” Geoff hushes. “Now lay still so we can get this off you.” He says. The usually shouting voice – the ones that’s told Jeremy to ‘get a fucking grip’ multiple times – is soft and reassuring.

Jeremy nods, he shifts for a moment but his chest is heavy and suddenly three pairs of hands comes down to stop him. He lifts his head and spots the live RPG sticking out from his chest.

“OH MY FUCKING GOD.” Jeremy screams out. He tries to scramble away and the hands hold him down once more, even if they didn’t he couldn’t go very far. Every bone in his body hurts.

“Stay still!” Gavin shouts, “Please… just stay still.” His voice almost begs and the tone of fear makes Jeremy nervous. If Gavin is afraid Jeremy should be too. Gavin’s calm and collected, right? He’s got that silver tongue, can lie better than the rest, right? 

“Okay…” Jeremy whispers in return. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight shut, as Geoff picks the knife up again. Anxiety flares, his heart beat speeds up, his palms sweat and his breathing becomes erratic. Geoff’s already at work, sawing away through the side of the material. 

In the background Jeremy can hear the battle continuing. Someone’s slaughtering the other crew, gunshots are fired and they shake the air. As Geoff cuts through the last fibres on the right side of the vest  there’s a loud, agonising scream in the distance.

“Who was that?” Jeremy whispers, “Not one of us, right?”

Jack shakes his head and reaches down to stroke Jeremy’s hair for a moment.

“No, that’s the other side. Michael and Ryan just finished them off.” He explains. Jeremy breathes a small sigh of relief. He grunts as it catches in his chest and makes it difficult to inhale. “You’re okay Jeremy.” Jack assures softly.

“I’ll believe that when it’s off me.”

Geoff huffs out a breath as he works on the other side. Jeremy’s glad for the release on the right side of his chest. The vests are already tight but, with a weighty RPG sticking into them, they crush him completely. 

The wait feels like forever as Geoff works on the left hand side. Jeremy tries to think of what he’ll do that night once he’s gets out of here.

If he gets out of here.

 _Once_ he gets out of here.

He gets to spend time with the crew right? He’s supposed to stay tonight, they’ll sit let him, yeah? Or has he fucked up again. He caused a scene. He’d made a whole issue. They’re having to save his life. Again. Oh god this was his last chance. He’s fucked up.

Jeremy whimpers softly and Geoff hushes him, mistaking his fear of abandonment for fear of the current situation. How has Jeremy become more afraid of being thrown from the Fakes than dying? 

“Gotcha!” Geoff yells after Jeremy’s been left to his own thoughts for far too long. The front of the vest comes free from the back and Geoff picks it up. He holds the RPG at arm’s length before throwing it out into the middle of the parking lot.

“Don’t throw it!” Gavin shrieks, scuttling out of Jack’s arms and far away. He bumps into Ryan’s shins as he and Michael return from the fight. It lands and miraculously stays intact. 

Geoff sinks down in relief and Jeremy slowly sits up. The rest of the crew stare around at each other, exchanging looks of weariness and relief.

“Alright.” The leader says, “Home time boys.” 

 

* * *

 

Jeremy didn’t really speak the entire way back to the pent house. Shaken and nervous he sits, knees pulled up into his chest as the van bumps it’s way home. Every bounce rattles his chest and it hurts. He winces often, sandwiched between Ryan and Michael protectively, Gavin basically staring into his soul the entire way home.

His quietness isn’t out of place this evening though, no one’s speaking except Jack and Geoff who mumble hurriedly from the front seats. Ryan’s hand sits on Jeremy’s knee and after a while he finds himself leaning into the larger man. Ryan welcomes him, resting his temple on the top of Jeremy’s head.

Now Jeremy’s sitting silently in the Fakes living room. The trash TV show that Gavin left on for him blares mindlessly in the background.

_“We don’t wanna leave you out Lil’ J but we’ve gotta talk about something, okay?” Gavin tries to explain as he passes Jeremy the remote._

_“I get it.” Jeremy says, nodding solemnly._

_“We’ll be back soon. Promise.” Gavin smiles softly. Jeremy just nods again._

They’re probably about to throw him out of the crew. He’s had his three chances. He’s shot a hostage, run into a fight without protection, and got himself almost blown up. He’s out right? He’s a gonna. 

He throws the remote across the room in anger, it bounces off the opposite sofa. Jeremy lets his head fall into his hands and he tugs at his hair. 

“I don’t want to let you all go…” He whispers to no one.

_I’m not gay._

_I’m not gay._

_I’m not gay._

“I think I love you… all of you.” Jeremy says. “I don’t know how that works but I love you all.”

A door opens, it bounces off the wall with a bang and Jeremy looks up. His chest twinges.

“Jeremy?” Michael asks, “Can you come throw into here for a moment?”

This was it. They’re about to say goodbye to him. Jeremy gets to his feet and slowly shuffles over to the door. Michael disappears into the room and the door closes behind him. It gives Jeremy just a moment to get himself together before the whole crew sees him. He takes a deep breath, grasps the door handle and pulls it open.

“Hey.” Jeremy greets. There are five men staring back at him. Gavin’s face peers up at him hopefully and Geoff looks serious. It’s almost impossible to read the mood in here so Jeremy decides to bite the bullet. “Look I get it if you want me out. Just don’t make a big deal of it. I’ll go get my stuff and you never have to work with me again.”

The difficult to read expressions turn to overwhelmingly clear confusion but Jeremy’s already heading for the door again.

“That’s not… that’s not what this is about.” Geoff says quickly. Jeremy stops. 

“It’s not?” He asks and Geoff shakes his head. 

“Of course not… you sacrificed yourself to save Gavin today. Can’t throw you out after that can we?” He chuckles. Jeremy turns back to face them.

“But you had a whole meeting without me.” Jeremy says quietly. Geoff glances to the others. He nods, biting his top lip.

“Because we had something to talk about.” Jack pushes forward. Jeremy turns to see him.

“Me?” He asks.

“Yeah, you.”

“Why me?” Jeremy presses. The rest of the men look to Geoff. Gavin practically crawling into Geoff’s lap at this point. The leader sighs and rolls his eyes. 

“Go on Gavin, you tell him.” Geoff breaks.

“Jeremy! We want you to join us!” Gavin bursts with a grin. “Forever!” He giggles childishly. Jeremy blinks and lets out a small smile.

“Seriously?” Jeremy says, a small smile breaking across his lips. He got what he wanted, time with the Fakes and apparently for the rest of his career. It means he’ll have to get this silly ‘love’ problem out of the way but at least he can stay with them. 

“But it comes with a bit more of a commitment than most crews.” Ryan says. Jeremy tilts his head in confusion but takes a couple steps closer to the men.

“Okay?” He says, probing for more of a complete explanation. 

“We’re a family, Lil’ J.” Gavin says. 

“Because I love Gavin.” Geoff explains.

So, Gavin and Geoff are gay? Interesting but seemingly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Jeremy still refuses to let his stupid feelings effect anything. If Geoff and Gavin are taken it’s even more reason to shut up.

“And I love Gavin.” Ryan says with a nod.

Hang on, what?

“So, do I.” Michael grins.

“Also, myself.” Jack adds in. 

This is getting difficult to understand.

“You all love with Gavin?” Jeremy asks, blinking hard in confusion.

“And we all love Ryan.” Michael says.

“And we all love Jack.” Gavin giggles. 

“Alright boys, I think he’s got the point.” Geoff says with a roll of his eyes. 

Jeremy shakes his head hard. 

“I really _really_ don’t.” Jeremy admits. “What’s going on here?”

“Look, we’re polyamorous. We’re the best crew in Los Santos because we kill the most and look out for each other the best. We look out for each other because we love each other. And Jeremy?” Geoff explains with a smile.

“We love you!” Gavin butts in. He steps forward. 

“We want you to join our crew _and_ our family.” Michael says, “It’s Gavin who fell for you first. Dragged us all in with him with your heroic, death defying ways.”

Jeremy has to step back. He takes a second to breathe deeply, to clear his head. All those feelings before? They were valid here. Completely valid. And accepted. And _encouraged._

“You sure you really want me?” Jeremy asks cautiously. 

“We’re sure, Jeremy.” Jack says.

“Then… you guys just made me the happiest murderer on the planet.” Jeremy grins. The group step forward and Michael’s rolling his eyes.

“He’s so soppy. Can’t we change our minds?” Michael groans.

Gavin whacks him on the arm with a frown as Jack pulls in the group for a hug.

“Don’t be mean, Micoo.” Gavin whines.

The group squeezes tight. It’s warm and welcoming and Jeremy honestly feels like he belongs. Until a sharp pain runs through his ribs. He hisses in discomfort and they pull away quickly. Jeremy whines softly at the loss. 

“You’ve been through hell today, Lil’ J.” Ryan says softly. “Still up for staying here tonight? 

Jeremy nods ferociously. The same way that made Geoff chuckle only a few hours before. It does again.

“You have to try Geoff’s lasagne!” Gavin declares. Jeremy tilts his head. “It’s the best food you’ll have ever eaten in your life.” He promises. 

* * *

 Jeremy doesn’t know how he ended up so comfy. He’s lying on top of Jack’s stomach, his legs trailing into Gavin’s lap. Michael’s pestering Geoff in the kitchen as the aroma of perfect lasagne floats through the air. Ryan clutches Gavin tightly from the arm of the sofa. He hasn’t stopped fussing over the hacker since they sat down, making him promise to never go into the field without a vest on again. 

“I don’t care if you don’t leave the van. You’re wearing it.” Ryan says with a firm nod. Gavin rolls his eyes. 

“I was fine, Ryan!” Gavin complains. 

“Only because Jeremy risked his life for you. If he hadn’t had been so selfless you wouldn’t have stood a chance.” Ryan chides. Jack’s chuckling at the argument, Jeremy’s head bouncing with each laugh. “I hope you apologised to Jeremy by the way.” 

“He doesn’t have to say sorry.” Jeremy says softly.

“See!” Gavin pouts. 

“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be trouble round here?” Jack ponders aloud, smiling down at the tiny man in his lap. Jeremy shrugs a little and buries further into Jack. “You’re a proper lad it seems.” He smiles.

Jeremy doesn’t really know what that means but he loves it.

“Lasagne!” Geoff yells from the kitchen.  Jack pats Jeremy’s shoulder so he can move and the lad sits up. He squeaks in pain and three people are immediately at his aid. It’s odd but nice.

Jeremy could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished! Yay! I don't do Jeremy centric very often, I usually stick to Gavin. But I liked this (fear not Gavin centric angst is in the works though).
> 
>  
> 
> Kudos and Comments make my day <3
> 
> Love you all and see you in the next one!

**Author's Note:**

> How was that? Next half at the weekend!
> 
> Kudos and comments make my day! <3


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